King County is home to 12 local pumpkin producers. In fact, more than 100 products are grown in King County. Buying local is a great way to cut down on the environmental impact of your food. Whatever your reason for choosing local – supporting local farmers, sourcing what’s fresh and in season, better nutrition and advocating for food access –visiting a pumpkin patch and celebrating seasonal foods available is a great place to start.
Jubilee Farm
Jubilee Farm is a CSA farm that grows flowers, fruit, grain, herbs, and vegetables, and they sell pastured beef, pork, and lamb. Jubilee Farm has its final harvest festival of the month, with live music, free hay rides out to the pumpkin patch, and more, Oct. 27-28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. I recently visited this farm on a sunny Saturday afternoon to explore the U-Pick pumpkin patch and all of the other fun activities.
Located in the heart of King County’s beautiful Snoqualmie Valley, Jubilee Farm has been providing the community with fresh fruits, vegetables and meat, free from pesticides and herbicides for 19 years. Local musicians and artisans come out to play on the weekends during Harvest Festival. Showed in the picture above is their vegetable garden with a tractor hay ride filled with happy pumpkin pickers. Jubilee’s pumpkin patch experience has free entry, free parking, and crowds are seamlessly managed. The pick-your-own-pumpkin is just one of many fun extras, including hot cider, hay rides, animals, and mazes.
The hay ride experience offers great views of the vast expanse of trees, greenhouses where fresh tomatoes are grown, and a peek at the Cascade Range in the distance. The hay ride brings visitors to the U-Pick pumpkin patch, and the U-Pick experience was the highlight of this sunny, breezy, and colorful day. There were hundreds of pick-able pumpkins along with yellow gourds, squash, and big green pumpkins littering the patch, hiding behind their big orange friends. Many children enjoyed finding a little squash they could bring home while their parents or bigger siblings carried their big orange pumpkin prize back to the car.
Photos courtesy of King County DNRP
21 Acres
The 21 Acres Farm crew shares the best of the season with the Market staff. They grow pumpkins for use in their culinary kitchen and for deli sales; from pumpkin bread and pie bars to seeds, soup and puree.
The Farm Market carries several varieties of pumpkins, and winter squash abounds. Gourds from the Youth Garden are also available. Whether eating or decorating, 21 Acres love the fall harvest. Stop by and explore the 21 Acres Farm and Market; open to the public, all ages welcome, Wednesday to Friday 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Also, see what 21 Acres is growing and sharing at @21Acres on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!
Photos courtesy of 21 Acres
Remlinger Farms
When you grow up on a generational farm, your roots are buried deep in the fertile soil of your special childhood memories. No matter where you may travel, your heart will always be called back to the farm to continue the family traditions and help to plant the seeds to grow those special memories for the generations to come. Hart/Remlinger boys at Remlinger Farms.
Come and celebrate Fall Pumpkin Harvest Festival with Remlinger Farms, and don’t forget your boots for picking in the fields! With big U-Pick Pumpkin fields, rides, entertainment, and local food. Remlinger Farms helps create memories to last a lifetime.
Photos courtesy of Remlinger Farms
Have a favorite King County pumpkin farm? Comment below and let us know!